28 November 2025
Oxford Instruments and Quantemol announce plasma modelling R&D collaboration project supported by Innovate UK
The partnership combines advanced plasma modelling with cutting-edge experimentation to enable faster and more precise plasma processing using tailored waveform biasing.
Oxford Instruments (OXIG), a leading provider of advanced plasma processing solutions for the compound semiconductor industry, and Quantemol Ltd, a leader in plasma chemistry and simulation, are excited to announce a new collaborative R&D project, part-funded by Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
The joint initiative will showcase how tailored waveform biasing can be used to optimise ion energy distribution for plasma processing technologies to advance next-generation semiconductor manufacturing with the aim of improving system throughput. Quantemol will leverage its software expertise to build predictive plasma models, using its Quantemol Virtual Tool (QVT). The models will be validated on a PlasmaPro 100 Cobra ICP etching system in Oxford Instruments’ state-of-the-art development lab to create robust and predictable plasma process simulations.
The simulations will be used to optimise plasma processes for increased speed and efficiency while tailored waveform biasing will be demonstrated with the aim of minimising damage to sensitive materials and device structures on the semiconductor wafer. The goal of the initiative is to enable faster, more resource-efficient development of semiconductor manufacturing plasma processes, and pathways to improved device performance.
This research supports the UK's position in advanced manufacturing, in addition to contributing to more sustainable industrial practices, and by optimising in the virtual space this enables the reduction of energy and material consumption during process development and fabrication.
"This Innovate UK grant strengthens domestic collaboration in the sector by partnering Oxford Instruments and Quantemol to deliver rapid optimisation of tailored waveform biasing, which enables next-generation ion control for the atomic scale processing of compound semiconductors." Matt Kelly, Managing Director, Oxford Instruments Advanced Technologies.
“This partnership is defined by the synergy between Quantemol's leading plasma modelling expertise and Oxford Instruments’ excellence in experimental data generation,” Scott Midgely, Quantemol’s Chief Operating Officer. “We look forward to establishing a robust, validated method for the practical application of tailored waveform biasing in semiconductor R&D.”